Wisconsin Union Theater Season Continues With Virtual Events Featuring Jazz Pianist Christian Sands and Classical Pianist Jeremy Denk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 20, 2020

Contact Information:
Shauna Breneman, Communications Director
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu

WISCONSIN UNION THEATER SEASON CONTINUES WITH VIRTUAL EVENTS FEATURING JAZZ PIANIST CHRISTIAN SANDS AND CLASSICAL PIANIST JEREMY DENK

MADISON –  The Wisconsin Union Theater’s fall virtual events will continue with a live performance by the Christian Sands Trio on Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. CDT, which will be preceded by a live Q&A at 7:30 p.m. CDT, and a performance by pianist Jeremy Denk on Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. CDT, which will be preceded by a live Q&A at 7 p.m. CDT.

At the age of 31, Sands has already established himself as one of the most in-demand jazz pianists in the world and has been hailed as the leading pianist of his generation. He began learning piano at the age of 3, but his journey began with learning classical music.

He found his way to jazz piano at 7 years old after feeling constricted by the specificity his teacher prescribed for how each classical piece was to be played. His parents supported his journey and ensured music often filled the Sands household, including music from Grover Washington Jr., Miles Davis and Shirley Caesar, all of which influenced Sands’s music.

Sands recently released an album, called “Be Water,” which took inspiration from water’s peaceful yet powerful qualities. “Be Water” includes 10 pieces, nine of which Sands wrote, that emulate the many forms that water can take, from a sun-bathed, tranquil lake to a fierce thunderstorm.

“Christian was a jazz piano prodigy playing with the greats like Billy Taylor and Oscar Peterson and is shaping up to be one of the ‘greats’ himself,” Wisconsin Union Theater Director Elizabeth Snodgrass said.

Customers that still have previously purchased tickets for the Christians Sands performances that were scheduled for April 9 or April 10 can use the tickets for the Dec. 3 performance.

Denk’s performance, which is part of the Theater’s 101st Annual Concert Series, will include Robert Schumann’s “Papillons, Op. 2,” Clara Schumann’s “Romances, Op. 21,” Missy Mazzoli’s “Bolts of Loving Thunder,” and Johannes Brahms’s “Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119.”

In the United States, Denk has performed with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra and frequently performs at Carnegie Hall. Internationally, he has toured with the world-famous Academy of St Martin in the Fields as well as at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. Among his many accomplishments, Denk won a MacArthur Genius Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize.

Denk’s talents include writing about music. Some of his stories about music have been featured on the front page of the New York Times Book Review as well as in The New Yorker, The New Republic and The Guardian. His passion for composing both music and writing compositions is evident in his music-based blog “Think Denk,” which dates back to 2005.

“Jeremy Denk is one of the greatest pianists of our generation,” Snodgross said. “While many pianists specialize in a particular period or composer, Jeremy is a musical omnivore whose wide-ranging interests span centuries and styles, and he is exceptional at playing all of them. As The New York Times said, he is ‘a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs.’”

For more than 75 years, the Wisconsin Union Theater has served as a cultural center for community members and visitors.

The Wisconsin Union Theater team presents its season in collaboration with the student-led Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Performing Arts Committee, which, along with 10 other WUD committees and six clubs, promotes and runs more than 1,000 Wisconsin Union events each year.

The Theater team strives for all of its spaces to be accessible, and those that need accommodations can reach out to the Wisconsin Union Theater team at wisconsinuniontheater@union.wisc.edu.

This year, the Wisconsin Union Theater team committed to taking action in standing against racial inequities. The team is working to be activists; use the arts to create social justice; remember that students are future leaders and must be part of the change; use its voices to influence leadership and be firm in its resolve; and make space, step back, and learn how to give up undeserved or unnecessary power and privilege. For a full statement on the Theater’s stance and efforts, click here.

To purchase tickets to Sands’s performance, visit union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/christian-sands-trio. To purchase tickets to Denk’s performance, visit union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/jeremy-denk.

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About the Wisconsin Union Theater

For more than 75 years, the Wisconsin Union Theater has served as a center for cultural activity in the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. The Theater hosts performances in multiple locations, including Memorial Union, and has an expansive history of remarkable performances. The Wisconsin Union Theater is part of the Wisconsin Union, a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more about the Theater: union.wisc.edu/wisconsin-union-theater.

About the Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee

The Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee plans and promotes events for the historic Wisconsin Union Theater stages. The student-led committee programs a variety of events to provide a diverse and cultural experience for students, faculty, alumni, community members and visitors. Learn more: union.wisc.edu/get-involved/wud/performing-arts.

To read this release online, visit union.wisc.edu/december-theater.

Strang Madison Office Awarded 1st WELL Gold Certified Space in WI

Strang Press Release
811 E. Washington Ave. Suite 200
Madison, WI 53703
608.276.9200
strang-inc.com/

Strang Madison Office Awarded WELL Gold Certification
First WELL Certified Space in Wisconsin!

The architectural, engineering, and interior design firm Strang announced today that their Madison office has been awarded the first WELL Gold Certified project in the state of Wisconsin.

This prestigious distinction was awarded through the International WELL Building Institute’s WELL Building Standard™ (WELL), a performance-based certification system for measuring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing. Strang’s office earned this recognition based on seven categories of building performance— Air, Water, Light, Nourishment, Fitness, Comfort, and Mind.

This 8,730 SF office space, which also recently achieved LEED® Gold certification, implemented some of the following practices to achieve a WELL Certified™ Gold rating including: installing specialized HVAC systems to improve indoor air quality, offering quality filtration on drinking water, providing employees with healthy food options, acoustic planning, and designing spaces that promote mindfulness, physical activity, and employee comfort.

Katie Lowery, Director of Integrated Controls Systems, championed this project to ensure this space met all WELL Gold performance requirements.

“I’m so proud of our firm and design team to have achieved the first WELL Certified project in the State of Wisconsin! As a culture, we spend 90% of our time indoors and so it’s truly meaningful that our place of work contributes positively to our health.  The WELL Building Design Standard has raised the bar on what it means to have a healthy workplace, both physically and mentally.  Today’s climate has raised many concerns about maintaining health and our staff has the assurance that we are placing occupant health and well-being as a top priority through our design standards and operations.  We’re happy to have done what’s right for our own workplace and are even more excited to share our knowledge with clients who wish to do the same for theirs.”

– Katie Lowery, LEED AP, BD-C, WELL AP

Strang has been a leading practitioner of WELL™ designed facilities, continually seeking out ways in which we can transform our buildings and communities to empower us to live healthier, safer, and more productive lives. It is a great honor to be recognized for our efforts within our own Madison offices and demonstrate how Strang provides thoughtful design centered around health and wellness in the built environment.

About Strang

Established in 1935, Strang is an award-winning architecture, engineering, and interior design firm with offices in Madison and Waukesha. Our inclusive project approach allows us to provide exceptional design for the most unique and challenging projects within the science and technology, commercial, higher education and civic + cultural sectors.

Check out our blog post and video on this topic as well:

Blog: https://strang-inc.com/2020/11/20/strang-madison-office-achieves-well-gold-certification/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35IGrY8Hz0c&feature=emb_title

Stoughton Semi-Truck Trailer Sales Orders Surge in Q4

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Ron Jake
Stoughton Trailers
608.877.8601
rjake@stoughtontrailers.com

Amy Mertz
Brick Road PR
608.220.9815
amy@brickroad-pr.com

Semi-Truck Trailer Orders Surge in Q4
Stoughton Trailers Raises Base Pay to Attract New Employees

STOUGHTON, Wis. (November 19, 2020) — While many businesses unfortunately continue to struggle amid the COVID-19 pandemic, others — including Stoughton Trailers, LLC — are experiencing tremendous sales growth and boosting their staffing.

Sales secured through several new dealers contributed to the fourth quarter’s dramatically increased order volume, as well as new fleet customers and existing customers across all markets. The majority of semi-trailers sold were dry vans, designed to hold palletized, boxed or loose freight.

“Despite the unpredictability we saw in the spring and early summer due to COVID-19, our business and industry have swiftly recovered and even thrived,” said Stoughton Trailers Chief Commercial Officer Jeremy Sanders. “The fact that we’re experiencing such a large order volume increase for van trailers reinforces the health and resilience of our company, and the trust customers have in our brand.”

Trailer sales declined from April to July as fleet customers became apprehensive about purchasing equipment in the first several months of the pandemic. However, orders began to rebound in August and have steadily grown from there, Sanders said. “Customers have since gained confidence that the freight business will remain strong and are investing in trailers as well as utilizing our Stoughton Lease rental trailer fleet,” he said.

A second factor resulting in greater order volume is the shift of more freight toward online order delivery. The industry requires more trailers to manage the logistical challenges of increased parcel shipments.

The sharp order increase will keep trailer builders and other staff steadily busy through 2021, Sanders said. To attract new employees, Stoughton Trailers increased its hourly base pay for several important entry-level and skilled positions: assemblers, $16; machine operators, $17; and welders, $18.25. The company continues its aggressive recruiting effort that began in September, with the hopes of hiring several hundred workers in the coming months. Candidates may visit stojobs.com for a complete list of employment opportunities.

About Stoughton Trailers

Stoughton Trailers is a top 10 international supplier of semi-truck trailers. The Wisconsin-based, family-owned company designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of dependable semi-truck trailers used for over-the-road trucking, as well as agricultural trailers and other specialty transportation equipment. It provides one-stop build, finance, rental and fleet management solutions through world-class responsiveness and design value. For more information, visit StoughtonTrailers.com.

GHC-SCW Expands Network in Grant County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                     

Media Contact: Allan Wearing
Chief Business Development Officer
Phone: 608-251-3356 #4813
awearing@ghcscw.com

GHC-SCW Expands Network in Grant County
Partnership announced with Grant Regional Health Center and Family Medical Center in Lancaster

MADISON, WISCONSIN – Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin (GHC-SCW) announces its partnership with Grant Regional Health Center and Family Medical Center in Lancaster.

Effective January 1, 2021, GHC-SCW members can choose a Primary Care Provider (PCP) from one of the three Grant Regional Health Center clinic locations: Grant Regional Community Clinic Lancaster, Grant Regional Community Clinic Cassville and Potosi-Tennyson Medical Clinic as well as Family Medical Center in Lancaster. GHC-SCW members will also have access to emergency care, urgent care and specialty care services at Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster.

“We are thrilled to be able to provide our members with more resources for primary care needs and expanded services by increasing access to care throughout Grant County,” said Dr. Chris Kastman, GHC-SCW Chief Medical Officer. “Great partners like Grant Regional Health Center and Family Medical Center allow for improved access to quality care at a time when it is needed the most.”

Insurance plans and benefits vary; GHC-SCW members are encouraged to call GHC-SCW Member Services at (608) 828-4853 to ensure their choice of primary care provider.

About GHC-SCW

Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin (GHC-SCW) is a nonprofit health plan that cares for more than 75,000 members. The Cooperative has served the greater Dane County area for 44 years and provides both insurance and clinical services for its members. GHC-SCW is the first health plan in Wisconsin to offer patients a money-back guarantee if they are not satisfied with their experience at a GHC-SCW clinic. GHC-SCW was rated 5 out of 5 nationally in 2019 and was the number one ranked private plan in Wisconsin from 2006–2019 according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). 

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Per Mar Security Services Acquires Monument Electronics of Merrillville, IN

Contact:
Cassondra Billingsley, Per Mar Security Services
563-549-6635

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2020   

Per Mar Security Services Acquires Monument Electronics of Merrillville, IN

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Per Mar Security Services, a leading provider of total security solutions for residential and commercial clients based in Davenport, IA, is pleased to announce it has acquired Monument Electronics based in Merrillville, Indiana.

Monument Electronics was founded in 1982, and is a family-owned and operated business serving Northwest Indiana. Beginning November 19, 2020, Per Mar will begin servicing Monument Electronics’ customers out of its Valparaiso, IN and Griffith, IN offices.

“We feel lucky to have been selected by Carol Green to serve her customers going forward. She clearly cares about them, and we look forward to getting to know them as well,” said Per Mar Security Services’ COO Brian Duffy.

Carol Green added, “Our family owned business has been providing personalized security services to our valued customers for the past 25 years and we feel that Per Mar will continue that tradition.”

About Per Mar Security Services

Established in 1953, Per Mar Security Services is the largest, family-owned, full-service security company in the Midwest with more than 2,400 team members, operating in 24 branch locations. The company provides full-service security solutions for homes and businesses including security officer services, smart home automation, burglar and fire alarms, access control, security cameras, alarm monitoring, investigative services and background checks. For more information about Per Mar Security Services, please visit permarsecurity.com.